


the weight of the walls

by kuviraapologist



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Healthy Relationships, Nerds in Love, Rare Pairings, honestly idec if people read this, idk what else to tag this, mutual appreciation, purely written for myself, soft, varrick is only mentioned, we all know they both deserved better than their love interests, zhutar brainrot, zhutar nation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:28:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28803564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuviraapologist/pseuds/kuviraapologist
Summary: zhu li is too good for varrick, baatar seems to be the only one who understands that.
Relationships: Baatar Jr./Zhu Li Moon, Zhu Li Moon/Baatar Jr.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	the weight of the walls

**Author's Note:**

> thank you twitter for bringing this ship to the surface

for the past few weeks, baatar had found himself watching zhu li from afar. admiring the way she works, the way she thinks. the way her hands move so swiftly, how she always seems to know what to do, and rarely ever hesitates. it’s fascinating. truly something that needs to be appreciated more. it was embarrassing, to say the least, when she finally looked up and caught him staring. but she only smiled and continued working, as if his presence, his strong gaze, had no effect on her at all.

it started with watching. and then it was zhu li who had initiated the first touch. the first physical thing between them at all. her fingers touching the tips of his elbows, making his breathe hitch and every bone in his body freeze. without saying anything, she moved his arms into a different position, then trailed down till her hands were touching his, and pressed down. "it should work more efficiently like this." and then she walked away, as if she didn’t just rob him of his wits. he stood there for a minute, rendering what just happened before doing as she said. with a little extra pressure, he found out that she was right. and what he’d been trying to fix for hours, was suddenly very easy.

she was brilliant. that much he was sure of.

then came the jokes. the very line that had put them in this situation now. "you need a hair cut." she joked, although she didn’t sound like she was joking. but he had started picking up on her slight tone changes. she was a very serious person, by all means. but there were times, like this, when her voice shifted slightly and would be almost impossible to notice if you hadn’t spent as much time with her as baatar did.

with every minute, every second that they spent together, he felt as if he were uncovering an entirely different person. when zhu li first was introduced here, she didn’t talk much. just worked. but there are layers in which you could only see if you watched and listened the way he did. he kept asking himself stupid questions like, _does varrick know that she prefers working during night rather than during the day?_ because there were various occasions when baatar stumbled upon her, working in the night, taking notes, being productive beyond belief.

_does he know that she wakes up extremely early, not on purpose, but out of habit? does he know that she drinks multiple cups of coffee in the morning to stay awake? does he know that she hates her glasses but are bound to them?_ the questions had started getting weirder, he thought. but he couldn’t help it. _does he know that she looks the prettiest with her hair down? does he know that the skin on her fingertips are soft?_ he wanted to ask zhu li why she stayed with varrick for so long, why she put up with him when she could’ve gone anywhere and gotten a job where she was treated as the outstanding worker she is.

_does varrick understand her power the way i do?_ no. he already knew the answer to that one.

baatar had never been scared off by small spaces, he’s never felt claustrophobic in any way. but when him and zhu li squeeze into the small restroom on the train, he feels like he’s running out of air. she says it has the best lighting, and if she were going to do this, it needed to be done right. but being practically squished up against her, he felt the weight of the walls for the first time.

all of her movements, every cut, every breath, every sigh, every touch, was enhanced. when she brushed the hair off his shoulder, he shivered. when she bent down in front of him, now being eye level with him, he thought he might give into impulse right then and there. but he contained himself. he had years of practice with it. but there’s only so much he can handle. only so much restraint left in him.

at first, he didn’t know how she felt about it. but there was only one way to find out. when she came back around, standing in front of him, his fingers slowly found their way onto the back of her thigh, pulling her in closer. his legs parted, allowing her to move her body inward. she stopped working on his hair, he could feel her eyes on him. when he looked up, he seen exactly what he wanted. that zhu li had wholeheartedly returned these feelings. all the restraint that was in him was gone. there was no more hiding the things that he felt. within an instant, he was standing, towering over her.

there was no hesitation in her eyes, but there never really was, was there?

pressed up against the small wall of the restroom, he finally felt what it was like to be truly appreciated in return.


End file.
